North Trial Judge Rejects Pact : Gesell Puts Off Proceedings Till High Court Acts

The judge in Oliver L. North’s Iran-Contra trial today rejected a government proposal for stricter handling of state secrets and delayed the proceedings until the Supreme Court addresses the issue Friday.

After a tense 70-minute hearing, U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell ruled that Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh may not file a series of affidavits in “bits and pieces” during North’s trial.

Gesell indicated that the trial could not begin until the Supreme Court rules on the Justice Department request for a stay of the trial. A temporary stay expires Friday. The department has sought to delay the trial until appellate judges can review procedures to protect national security.

Bars ‘Bits and Pieces’

The agreement on how to handle the classified material was struck over the weekend between Thornburgh and the independent counsel. Gesell said the agreement was not satisfactory.

“I find no basis for giving him (Thornburgh and the Justice Department) a seat at counsel table or the right to intervene by way of bits and pieces of affidavits whenever the going gets tough,” Gesell said.

Gesell said North, the fired White House aide, has the constitutional right “like any citizen to a fair trial, to an opportunity to present his defense fairly and fully” without lengthy disruptions that would confuse a jury.

12 Felony Charges

The Bush Administration has threatened that if Gesell rejected the compromise proposal and if it loses an appeal now pending with the Supreme Court, Thornburgh may be compelled to scuttle the case against North by forbidding the use of classified material.

The retired Marine lieutenant colonel faces 12 felony charges, including lying to Congress, destroying documents, tax fraud and accepting illegal gifts arising from his efforts to arm the Nicaraguan Contra rebels.

If convicted on all counts, North faces a maximum 60 years in prison and $3 million in fines.

“I don’t know how the case is going to come out; I’m going to try it as best I can,” Gesell said in ruling from the bench at the end of today’s hearing.